13/11/2022
NEEDING TO BE DEALT WITH TO BE BUILT
Every person who has been saved, who loves the Lord, who pursues after Him, and who has seen God’s vision will have the clear realization that to properly be a Christian he must be built together with his fellow Christians. Previously, we were sinners who belonged to the world and needed to be saved. Now that we have been saved, we need to take a further step to be built into the church. To be built does not mean that we merely pursue the Lord, love the Lord, and are spiritual but that we also commit ourselves into the hand of the Lord, allowing Him to do the work of trimming and dealing in us so that we may become material fit for God’s dwelling place. This is similar to the building of a house. The materials may have been purchased, but before the actual building can begin, the craftsmen must do a considerable amount of work on the materials first. If they are dealing with stones, they must do some knocking, chiseling, and carving of designs. If they are handling lumber, they must do some sawing and planing so that the lumber will fit the required measurements. After the materials have been properly worked on, then they can be put together according to the blueprint and be built into a house. This is a very simple illustration.
Just as a builder buys the building materials, so God has bought and redeemed us with the blood of His Son to be materials for His building. Some of the materials are large, while others are small. Some are like stones, while others are like lumber. After obtaining the materials, God brings them to the church. On the one hand, the church is a home, but on the other hand, the church is a factory where God works. The first thing God does is to work on the materials with an ax, hammer, knife, and chisel. He cuts away the excess parts and planes the rough surfaces.
While we are under these kinds of dealings, we may be very troubled and may sometimes be full of complaints. Hence, some may begin to doubt and ask, “When we heard the gospel, we were told that after we were saved, we would have peace. So why is it that we have no peace now?” I remember when I was young and newly saved, I was very zealous to preach the gospel everywhere. One time I met a friend who was having difficulties, and I told him, “You have to believe in the Lord right away. You truly need the Lord. You are suffering so much, you are physically sick, and your situation is difficult. You can have peace only by believing in the Lord.” Thank the Lord that he believed in the Lord and that the Lord was merciful toward him. He soon recovered from his sickness, his situation also improved, and he truly had joy and peace.
Some Christians are full of enjoyment when they first believe in the Lord. Soon afterward, however, they again experience trouble in their lives and changes in their circumstances, and their faith gradually wavers. Sometimes they would come and ask me, “Mr. Lee, the gospel that you preached to me was true in the beginning, but now it is no longer true. May I ask you why it is that the more I trust in the Lord and the more I pray, the more the difficulties increase? It seems that the Lord Jesus does not hear my prayers or solve my problems. What is the matter?” Then they would further question me, saying, “Could it be that the Lord in whom we have believed is not real?” I would say, “Of course He is real!” Then they would say, “Since He is real, how can He bear to see us suffer? If this is so, then is it true that our Lord does not have love?” Whenever they asked this, I was unable to answer them, and even I began to doubt. I thought that since it was so troublesome to believe in the Lord, perhaps we would be happier as unbelievers.
Sometimes I would go to some old preachers for help. They explained to me that God often has to discipline and chasten us because we make mistakes. At first I thought that this explanation was correct, because it seemed impossible for us children of God to never be wrong. Sometimes we are wrong in our attitude, and other times we are wrong in our words. Our God who is also our Father loves us, so He surely chastises us and disciplines us when we are wrong. Therefore, we should take His discipline willingly.
Gradually, however, I discovered that sometimes He would chastise me when I had done nothing wrong. Sometimes I had obviously done nothing wrong, and my condition before God was very good, yet problems still came to me repeatedly. Again I was perplexed. I asked myself whether or not God would discipline and chastise me even if I had not sinned. I could not understand this. At that time I was altogether groping in the dark since I had never heard a message concerning building and had no proper person to help me.
After groping in the dark for many years, the Lord gradually led me to know something concerning the church and to see the vision of the building. Furthermore, I experienced coordinating with various kinds of saints among the brothers and sisters, such as the co-workers and elders, the responsible ones of the home meetings and group meetings, the experienced ones, and the younger ones. I saw that all the saints had to serve in one accord and in coordination to be a proper church. Gradually, I realized that to have this kind of coordination, the Lord’s dealing is needed. We need to be dealt with even if we have not erred in any matter. This is similar to the way a house is built. Lumber from Chinese juniper trees is very good. It has neither knots nor blemishes. However, if you measured the pieces of lumber, you would discover that some are too long. Thus, you would need to saw off some parts to make them suitable to be used. If the lumber had any feeling, it might say to the carpenter, “Why are you cutting me? Is it because I did something wrong? Do I have any knots or blemishes? Do I have other problems?” If I were the carpenter, I would tell the lumber, “It is not a matter of whether or not you have made a mistake. Look at how long you are. I want to make you into a doorpost, which is only eight feet high, but you are half a foot too long. What do you think I should do? I need to work on you by cutting and sawing off a piece of you, or else you will be completely useless in the building.” This piece of juniper wood would have no choice but to suffer the pain and allow the carpenter to deal with it as he sees fit.
I use this simple illustration to speak about the building of the church. When we were saved, the element of God as pure gold was added into us, the earthen vessels. However, God still wants us to be transformed into pearls and precious stones. Today technology has advanced to such an extent that diamonds can be artificially produced through intense heat and great pressure. We know that the elementary composition of diamonds is the same as that of common coal, but after going through a long process of being under intense heat and great pressure, the ordinary coal is transformed into a precious diamond. In the same manner, we who are common materials like lumps of clay need to be transformed if we want to be built together in the church. Hence, transformation becomes a big problem to us.
This matter of transformation is not up to us. It is altogether a matter of the Lord’s leading. When we were first saved, due to the Lord’s attracting, we pursued Him, loved Him, fellowshipped constantly with Him, lived in Him, and were willing to give ourselves to Him. As a result, we felt very sweet within. However, for some unknown reason, it seemed that after a while an invisible hand mysteriously came upon us, bringing sufferings. Sometimes the sufferings came gradually, and sometimes they came all at once. We had no way of escape. What kind of story is this? This is the work of God. Our sufferings, which are all permitted and measured by God, put us into the furnace of trials. Sometimes the sufferings are so heavy that it seems that we can no longer bear them, and we may even ask for death. We do not realize that in burning and pressing us, God’s intention is to remake us so that we would be gradually transformed to be suitable for building. Such a transformation is not to make us spiritual for others to appreciate. Rather, it is to make us able to be coordinated, mingled, and built together with the other members. This is the ultimate goal of God’s work.
The Vision of the Building of the Church, Chapter 8NEEDING TO BE DEALT WITH TO BE BUILT
Every person who has been saved, who loves the Lord, who pursues after Him, and who has seen God’s vision will have the clear realization that to properly be a Christian he must be built together with his fellow Christians. Previously, we were sinners who belonged to the world and needed to be saved. Now that we have been saved, we need to take a further step to be built into the church. To be built does not mean that we merely pursue the Lord, love the Lord, and are spiritual but that we also commit ourselves into the hand of the Lord, allowing Him to do the work of trimming and dealing in us so that we may become material fit for God’s dwelling place. This is similar to the building of a house. The materials may have been purchased, but before the actual building can begin, the craftsmen must do a considerable amount of work on the materials first. If they are dealing with stones, they must do some knocking, chiseling, and carving of designs. If they are handling lumber, they must do some sawing and planing so that the lumber will fit the required measurements. After the materials have been properly worked on, then they can be put together according to the blueprint and be built into a house. This is a very simple illustration.
Just as a builder buys the building materials, so God has bought and redeemed us with the blood of His Son to be materials for His building. Some of the materials are large, while others are small. Some are like stones, while others are like lumber. After obtaining the materials, God brings them to the church. On the one hand, the church is a home, but on the other hand, the church is a factory where God works. The first thing God does is to work on the materials with an ax, hammer, knife, and chisel. He cuts away the excess parts and planes the rough surfaces.
While we are under these kinds of dealings, we may be very troubled and may sometimes be full of complaints. Hence, some may begin to doubt and ask, “When we heard the gospel, we were told that after we were saved, we would have peace. So why is it that we have no peace now?” I remember when I was young and newly saved, I was very zealous to preach the gospel everywhere. One time I met a friend who was having difficulties, and I told him, “You have to believe in the Lord right away. You truly need the Lord. You are suffering so much, you are physically sick, and your situation is difficult. You can have peace only by believing in the Lord.” Thank the Lord that he believed in the Lord and that the Lord was merciful toward him. He soon recovered from his sickness, his situation also improved, and he truly had joy and peace.
Some Christians are full of enjoyment when they first believe in the Lord. Soon afterward, however, they again experience trouble in their lives and changes in their circumstances, and their faith gradually wavers. Sometimes they would come and ask me, “Mr. Lee, the gospel that you preached to me was true in the beginning, but now it is no longer true. May I ask you why it is that the more I trust in the Lord and the more I pray, the more the difficulties increase? It seems that the Lord Jesus does not hear my prayers or solve my problems. What is the matter?” Then they would further question me, saying, “Could it be that the Lord in whom we have believed is not real?” I would say, “Of course He is real!” Then they would say, “Since He is real, how can He bear to see us suffer? If this is so, then is it true that our Lord does not have love?” Whenever they asked this, I was unable to answer them, and even I began to doubt. I thought that since it was so troublesome to believe in the Lord, perhaps we would be happier as unbelievers.
Sometimes I would go to some old preachers for help. They explained to me that God often has to discipline and chasten us because we make mistakes. At first I thought that this explanation was correct, because it seemed impossible for us children of God to never be wrong. Sometimes we are wrong in our attitude, and other times we are wrong in our words. Our God who is also our Father loves us, so He surely chastises us and disciplines us when we are wrong. Therefore, we should take His discipline willingly.
Gradually, however, I discovered that sometimes He would chastise me when I had done nothing wrong. Sometimes I had obviously done nothing wrong, and my condition before God was very good, yet problems still came to me repeatedly. Again I was perplexed. I asked myself whether or not God would discipline and chastise me even if I had not sinned. I could not understand this. At that time I was altogether groping in the dark since I had never heard a message concerning building and had no proper person to help me.
After groping in the dark for many years, the Lord gradually led me to know something concerning the church and to see the vision of the building. Furthermore, I experienced coordinating with various kinds of saints among the brothers and sisters, such as the co-workers and elders, the responsible ones of the home meetings and group meetings, the experienced ones, and the younger ones. I saw that all the saints had to serve in one accord and in coordination to be a proper church. Gradually, I realized that to have this kind of coordination, the Lord’s dealing is needed. We need to be dealt with even if we have not erred in any matter. This is similar to the way a house is built. Lumber from Chinese juniper trees is very good. It has neither knots nor blemishes. However, if you measured the pieces of lumber, you would discover that some are too long. Thus, you would need to saw off some parts to make them suitable to be used. If the lumber had any feeling, it might say to the carpenter, “Why are you cutting me? Is it because I did something wrong? Do I have any knots or blemishes? Do I have other problems?” If I were the carpenter, I would tell the lumber, “It is not a matter of whether or not you have made a mistake. Look at how long you are. I want to make you into a doorpost, which is only eight feet high, but you are half a foot too long. What do you think I should do? I need to work on you by cutting and sawing off a piece of you, or else you will be completely useless in the building.” This piece of juniper wood would have no choice but to suffer the pain and allow the carpenter to deal with it as he sees fit.
I use this simple illustration to speak about the building of the church. When we were saved, the element of God as pure gold was added into us, the earthen vessels. However, God still wants us to be transformed into pearls and precious stones. Today technology has advanced to such an extent that diamonds can be artificially produced through intense heat and great pressure. We know that the elementary composition of diamonds is the same as that of common coal, but after going through a long process of being under intense heat and great pressure, the ordinary coal is transformed into a precious diamond. In the same manner, we who are common materials like lumps of clay need to be transformed if we want to be built together in the church. Hence, transformation becomes a big problem to us.
This matter of transformation is not up to us. It is altogether a matter of the Lord’s leading. When we were first saved, due to the Lord’s attracting, we pursued Him, loved Him, fellowshipped constantly with Him, lived in Him, and were willing to give ourselves to Him. As a result, we felt very sweet within. However, for some unknown reason, it seemed that after a while an invisible hand mysteriously came upon us, bringing sufferings. Sometimes the sufferings came gradually, and sometimes they came all at once. We had no way of escape. What kind of story is this? This is the work of God. Our sufferings, which are all permitted and measured by God, put us into the furnace of trials. Sometimes the sufferings are so heavy that it seems that we can no longer bear them, and we may even ask for death. We do not realize that in burning and pressing us, God’s intention is to remake us so that we would be gradually transformed to be suitable for building. Such a transformation is not to make us spiritual for others to appreciate. Rather, it is to make us able to be coordinated, mingled, and built together with the other members. This is the ultimate goal of God’s work.
The Vision of the Building of the Church, Chapter 8
